Two Poor Little Girls

Over the last few weeks there has been an increasingly appalling wafting of halitosis coming from my sweet little Rosie. She has had trouble with her teeth in the past and late Friday night she was up on the couch with me and we reached ‘situation critical’. I could no longer abide her on the couch as the odour was just too offensive.

The stunning view from the Newport Arms (but note the seagull)

I managed to book her in for a ‘scale and clean’ plus an examination all under general anaesthetic scheduled for first thing Monday morning. Well by Sunday afternoon I noticed that Rosie’s mother, Ruby, was also emitting a toxic odour that made me wish I wasn’t their ‘pack leader’ and could we in the pack not be so close we’re touching each other, only ALL THE TIME.

Just one of hundreds

I gave them both a bath and rubbed conditioner into their fur and dried them with Sheridan bath towels and brushed their shiny coats, all so the vet didn’t think these are dogs suffering from neglect.

Ready to take on the gulls

Early Monday morning Alfie and I put the girls into the car and with the windows down we drove 45 minutes to the vet who we have come to know so well he is almost on my dinner party list. I told him that I suspected Ruby also had something horrid going on inside her mouth and he said, ‘Not a problem; let us give her a general too and we’ll find out what’s going on’.

The budget just blew out.

Climbing the spider frame

The vet’s nurse asked me if I would like the girls to share a cage and I thought that was so lovely and thoughtful. I carried them into the cage that had blankets being warmed by a heat bed and kissed their sad and distressed faces goodbye.

Alfie and I spent the day on the coast and I took him to the Flying Fox Playground at Winnererremy Bay in Mona Vale where he had a great time on the flying fox and on the spider climbing frame.

The flying fox

We had lunch at the Newport Arms Hotel which apart from the view was absolutely disappointing. The pub has an enormous outside area and it was a stunning day so we were able to sit outside and take advantage of the beautiful water views however, the food we ordered was completely overpriced and to pay $25.00 for a fried seafood basket that’s rubbery with horrid presentation is just disappointing. Worse than that was the $24.00 rogan josh lamb curry that was completely ordinary and for some reason, decorated in cashews and was advertised as coming with pappadums however, there was just one singular oily pappadum to be seen.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. No, the worst of it was that the pub is plagued with seagulls who circle the tables seeking any and every opportunity. It was my mistake to leave Alfie all alone as I exited to purchase a drink from the bar. I hadn’t taken two steps before the seagulls swarmed and attacked Alfie’s plate while defecating on him and our table and chairs.

Fried seafood $25.00

We steeled our nerves and continued to press on with our over-priced food but when it was time to leave we stood up, took a couple of steps and the seagulls descended in a pack the size of the locusts that destroyed Egypt. Nothing was spared and three glasses were knocked over and crashed onto the brick pavers shattering glass in every direction. The commotion was such that all eyes were on the helpless mother and her bird-poo stained son as we tried to protect ourselves from an aves plague.

The shared cage

We returned to the vet at 4pm to collect our little girls but the teeth cleaning had been rather more aggressive and extractions had been involved. Ruby’s operation had taken more than an hour which is quite lengthy for someone of just 7.5kgs who’s about one hundred in dog years. Both had had multiple extractions with the promise of more to come if we don’t do something about the plaque building up on their teeth. Easier said than done!

Looking for the pack leader

Once their IV drips had been removed, I was allowed to go in and see them in their shared cage. Even in their groggy state they were so pleased to see the pack leader that they stood up on their legs only to have them collapse beneath them and land on their sad and sorry chins.

Ruby immediately post-op

They were so groggy they had to stay for an extra hour before leaving the surgery as Ruby wasn’t coming around from the anaesthetic as quickly as had been hoped.

Such sad faces and you can see Rosie’s swollen mouth

Anyway, at around 5.30pm and after a very full day we paid that bill. I was hoping we might have been in for a two-for-one deal but alas, it was more ‘double the trouble’. And there were parting words of how poor Ruby is in desperate need of a double knee replacement and ker-ching, ker-ching I was dazzled by the cost. But it must be done. I’ll just have to keep Carl out of the loop. He’s so stingy when it comes to the dogs. Best if the money is syphoned out of the account gradually – he’ll never notice!

Trying to survive the car trip home

And I’m sure you’re all anxious to know how they’re surviving post-operatively. We had a very quiet night last night with them not even being able to utter a bark. They’re being fed a soft diet of gourmet mince, they have their pain killers twice a day and yes, there was a nasty reaction to the anaesthetic but let’s not mention bowel issues.

Totally in a coma

Devoting myself to them is my full-time job.

At home, sleeping off the anaesthetic and yes, it’s very important to be touching

Comments

And there you were doing so well eating out looks like your good run has come to an end
Who knew dogs could have knee replacements – and Rosie’s knees must be tiny. Surely they will be cheaper than say a labrador knee?

I’m calling this the animal edition. The above is why I do not have dogs. I am a mean mother in my kids eyes but the expense and the work involved is way beyond me. Hope their teeth cleaning works to reduce the pong.

Sorry to hear The Arms was so poor. I haven’t eaten there for a long time. Sounds like they need to try harder.
Carolyn

Oh, poor puppies. They are such little darlings! And poor Alfie – bad food and defecating seagulls? That’s no fun either. We had bowel issues in our house tonight too. Chris’s parents are down with their mini labradoodle, who tends to bark at people coming through the door. For some reason he took offence to Chris walking through the door into the livingroom this evening, went completely bezerk with the barking, and then emptied his anal glands all over the livingroom floor. Lovely (thank goodness for floorboards). Why do we have dogs again?!

At least they are OK. When we had the bunny we went to this specialized vet also about 45 minutes away (in reality it was only 20 minutes made into 45 because of traffic), each visit was very expensive! I can certainly understand your devotion to your girls. I hope it all works out in the long run.
When we were in Chicago in July we ate breakfast at this outdoor cafe wherever we’re inundated with disgusting pigeons! It hey descended on a vacant table like vultures on a freshly deceased calf, making an enormous clutter and mess.

For my other job I worked as a veterinary technician, and I used to clean dog & cats teeth. My heart goes out to your sweet little puppies, I hope they they are feeling better. It is important to clean them for sure, but maintaining by brush teeth daily is the tricky part…..I am bad at the brushing daily part:-p Hope you are well, Hugs, Terra

Awe, poor little girls. I hope they feel better real soon and you are no longer tortured by their bad breath! And poor, poor Alfie to be attacked by defecating seagulls. Seagulls are horrid, I remember I was visiting The Statue of Liberrty many years ago and I had a muffin in my hand for my daughter who I was feeding. This bloody seagull, came and pecked me hard on my head and was circling around us, diving every now and then, I ended up throwing the muffin away in fear of my life!
I am so sorry for your horrid lunch, I always thought it was just me who always ended up with terrible meals at restaurants, but it seems you don’t have much luck either, Charlie!

Well aren’t they just the sweetest things ever! So sorry about your lunch and the birds, but it was nice you had some one on one time with the lad, no? My husband would never let me spend money on our dogs… Only the necessary shots and thats it! He did get x-rays of the one dog once after he was hit by a car, but made it very clear that if there was major surgery needed, we were putting him down… His whole family is that way…they don’t believe in putting a ton of money into their pets.

So glad the girls are home, sleeping it off and that they have each other, as well as their pack leader! Hopefully no knees will need to be replaced. I knew what was going to happen as soon as I saw that first seagull pic! Sorry for Alfie that he took the brunt of it.

Oh, poor pups…My own Angus had to go to the vet this week with a cut foot, and he looked equally pitiful. Just pitiful. And Rogan Josh should never, ever be just ordinary–what a shame. I hope the girls are recovering at home, surrounded by love.

Aw, hope your pups are recovering…they are so sweet. So sorry about your awful lunch…I think you win the prize for worst all-around lunch of the year! Our ancient pup goes under the knife tomorrow…fingers crossed for all 3 of these furry girls!

Oh, the poor things. I found tooth extractions traumatic enough when I understood what was happening and the expected recovery time, so for dogs I imagine it is much worse. I hope they’re both on the mend and your bank balance recovers!

Apart from the seagulls Alfie looks like he had agreat day. I never knew that dogs could have a knee replacement. It reminds. E of mt friend telling me her bulldog was having a face lift! The folds on its face we’re so deep it was getting sore and so had to have work. We love them and pay for them! GG xx

I couldn’t stop laughing when you called yourself the pack leader and that they had a horrid smell! But the poor girls having to go through this a knee reconstruction too! not good Hopefully they’ll feel better soon!

You’re still the kindest person I know Charlie, looking after the dogs, the kids, husband and everything else that you do xox

Your poor little sweeties.. including Alfie! We had packs of birds like that on the upstairs deck in Rome.. the minute you leave the table, they’d descend. No one else seemed as bothered by it as we were. I remember getting my dog’s teeth cleaned.. and extracted. I felt like such a bad “mom” because I wasn’t able to brush his teeth regularly. I’m glad they’re starting to recover!

Aw Charlie I say that picture of them on facebook or twitter or somewhere and I wondered what happened. It nearly made me cry looking at the poor little loves and there fat lips. Hope they are a lot better today. How sweet are they. Bad bad Newport Arms, its just how I thought it would be

Oh, those pictures of the girls coming out of their “coma” really say a lot about how hard the day was on them…and on you, too, apparently! Aging pets do come with hefty price tags, but you are a very kind and considerate pack leader, Charlie. As for those sea gulls! Was there no warning from the establishment? I’ve never heard of anything quite like it, and that’s abominable. They should have refunded your meal, I’d say!

Your poor dogs! Glad your vet was able to make things better, but it sounds like you have challenges ahead with them. Best of luck. So sorry to hear about the sea gulls – that must have been a miserable lunch. Not one of your most fun days, alas.

There are so many reasons for a dog’s bad breath and none of them good. And having had 2 dogs at the same time, it was always a “two-fer” when going to the vet. Neither one ever had a problem that the other didn’t suffer, as well — and they weren’t litter mates. They weren’t even the same breed!

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Charlie Louie

Welcome to Hotly Spiced. My name is Charlie Louie and I live with my husband and three children, Archie, Arabella and Alfie and two elderly ladies, Ruby and Rosie (dachshunds), in an increasingly untidy and dilapidated Sydney eyesore.... [Read More …]